4.19.2005

And a madman shall lead them

On the eve of the playoffs, I think it's important that I get down to what really matters to me in this league. And although my contributions to this blog sometimes read like a completely unnecessary PR campaign for LeBron and/or the Suns, Gilbert Arenas is my absolute favorite NBA player. I want the Wizards to win a title, and I don't care who knows it.

I read Sports Illustrated much less frequently than I should, which is the only possible excuse I have for having missed the definitive piece on the Big 0 (that's supposed to be a visual pun, where the letter "0" and the number "0" look similar but are distinguishable from each other. unfortunately, it doesn't work in this font). Thanks to Wizznutzz for making it available in all perpetuity, so I can stop compiling a list of crazy Arenas stories that I trot out to explain why he's so much more than just a top five guard.

3 Comments:

That's a great article, and reason why I love the NBA before all other leagues. I like football, but the NFL's whole image is to squash idiosyncracies and romanticize tough, silent guys who have nothing on their mind except football. MLB allows character, but only from role players, not from stars. But the NBA's best and brightest are a legion of happy lunatics and charming egomaniacs, and that will always put the league first for me. (There might be an analogy to be drawn with international soccer. Leave that to FreeLandon.com.)

This is the first time in my basketball-watching life I'm actually going to get to (hopefully) witness the Wizards win a game, if not a series against the weakened Baby Bulls. The big question is not how huge Hughes and Gil will be (note: huge), but rather whether Haywood (underrated) or Kwame (much-maligned) can actually contribute something functional in the post. Haywood's defense is great, but the O cannot continue to solely come from the backcourt.